Forever
by FanWriter02
Summary: [SPOILERS] Hiccup had never thought he'd go back. He'd convinced himself that... the memories would be too painful. The bright colors of the huts would mean nothing when they were empty and covered in dust. He had imagined walking through dead streets that he'd never seen empty. The Great Hall, his charred hut- the cove... and yet, here he stood. Post HTTYD 3.


**Forever**

An old man stepped off the boat, returning to a place he'd never thought he'd ever see again. He breathed shakily- and it was not due to whatever things still rattled in his chest- it was due to the fact that what lay before him took his breath away.

The buildings stood the same as when he'd left. They were more weathered, and as he could see just from standing on the creaky port, a few had trees toppled on top, or trees going straight through the roofs. Some had decayed over time and were crumbling where they stood, while others looked like they'd been sacrificed to Mother Nature's storms.

The colors that were once so vibrant were barely recognizable. The paint had mostly peeled off by now, leaving barren brown or grey wood, giving the place a ghostly appearance.

The old man stumbled a step forward, his heavy fur cape fluttering in the breeze. An old woman stepped up beside him, her grey hair streaked with gold.

"Hiccup, you don't have to do this." She said. She grabbed his arm, as if to stop him. "Hiccup-"

"Astrid, I-" He graveled, pulling away. His voice was the same, only weathered. Still nasally, only a little deeper then it once was. The breeze gusted past, as if it recognized him. "I need to do this." he finished softly.

Several others were on the boat still, watching, letting him go first. There were only four now, the fifth having passed on a few years prior. Snotlout. As spitely as ever, had always said he'd be the one to die last. And as cruel fate would have it, he was the first to go.

The old man's prosthetic creaked as he made his way across the weather boards of the pier. He had to pull himself over a few obstacles in the way, but it was as if the years were melting away with each step he took, and he was that young boy again, racing from Trader Johan's boat to his father's house to show off the new trinket he'd traded.

He tried not to the think too much on the large black winged shadow that would've followed him.

Hiccup had a vague recollection that the others were slow to follow. He lost himself to his thoughts and memories. As he turned down a street, one thing would lead to another. _"This was where we first held the dragon races." "This is where Dad tripped over Agur's son and fell into a barrel of foreign fruit." "This is where Astrid and I had our first real kiss." "This is where-"_ And the list went on and on.

He'd expected the onslaught of memories to be unbearably painful. He'd built it up in his mind for years and years that seeing the things that had once been would hurt- maybe even kill him. And yet, all he could feel was a weird empty feeling in his gut. It did hurt, but not in the way he expected.

His mind just automatically placed the things that were missing. Yes, that post was used for dragon scouts. That was a feeding trough- why, he could see the Terrible Terrors perched up there all ready!

He was almost giddy with imagination when he reached an overgrown place atop a hill. He paused, and although nothing remained, there was no doubt in his mind that he stood before his father's house.

"Hey Dad." He croaked. Not far from the hut was the old weather-worn statue of the old Chief of years past. Stoick the Vast. "You've been looking out for this place, haven't you?" He smiled. Something wet slid down his cheek. He hadn't realized he was crying.

All that remained of the hut were the stone steps. So there, he sat, looking out over the whole of Berk.

_Home._

He sat there for Thor knows how long. Just looking. He remembered everything. How alive it had been. Now, it was just a shell of its former self.

Eventually the others- Tuff, Ruff, Fishlegs, and Astrid- found him and clamored up the steps to sit by his side. They all sat there for almost an hour, and no one said a word.

"So." Ruff said. Tuffnut grunted and shifted. He sniffled loudly and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

Finally, Hiccup spoke, "I miss it." His sob was sharp, and it _hurt._ His back ached from sitting on the hard ground for so long, and his chest hurt from the pent up emotions.

Somehow they all wound up in an entangled embrace. There was no doubt they were all crying, but once they were dried up and there were no tears left to shed, they stood and gave the place that had once been home one last look before they returned to the only ship in the bay.

Hiccup fell behind, not wanting the other's to see how much he faltered. He now understood why the old men and woman had wanted to move back those many years ago. He felt the wild urgent need to stay rooted to where he stood. Because this was home. Maybe if he stayed, everything would go back to the way it had once been.

Everyone else was on the boat now. They were fixing to sail. Yet he stood, his back to the ocean, his eyes on the land.

He faltered, his gaze settling on the woods. There was a little gap in the trees and he recognized it. It was the trail he'd taken to…

He headed for it.

"Hiccup!?" Astrid called.

"I-I'll be back! Just… please- wait here, I'll be back-" He didn't even look back as he broke into a jog. The fastest he could really go at this point. Even then his joints protested.

He rushed through the trees. Nearly everything was the same. There some more fallen trees, some more broken branches. It was a little more overgrown than he remembered, but the landmarks remained. There's that old stump Astrid had perched upon when she'd first met Toothless. There's the old tree he'd dumped her in. There's-

He stumbled to a halt. His eyes caught a glint in the distance: a disk. It was the shield.

He came upon it, and knew he could not budge it, no matter how much he wanted to. The rock had grown up around it, embedding it deep within its hold. But he was somehow able to crawl beneath it, into the overgrown place he knew all too well.

The little lake was beautiful, and it sparkled in the setting sun. The tree that Toothless had hung upside down on was still there, hunched and dying, but there none-the-less. It was just as beautiful as he remembered it being.

And just as painful.

He collapsed against the stone wall, he shoulders shaking, his cries wavering. He'd thought he didn't have any tears left to shed, but he was wrong. In fact, he wasn't sure if they'd ever stop coming.

It might've been hours later when Astrid found him. She sat beside him in the dark, taking him into her arms and pressing his head against her chest. "Hiccup." She cried too. "Oh Hiccup."

And the thing was, if he'd been there ten years ago, he might've hoped that Toothless would be there. But now, there'd be no chance. They'd' seen each other years apart- Hiccup had continued returning to that same place where they met year after year after year- one year, it was just Toothless, his kids and the Light Fury nowhere to be found. Until one year, eleven years ago, Toothless himself did not come. Hiccup had tried only once more, with the same results. He'd had to accept the truth.

"I thought- maybe-" He hiccuped harshly. "Just I- it was stupid. So stupid."

"Shh, Hiccup, of course it wasn't." Astrid kissed his cheek. "I hoped too."

They fell asleep there. Hiccup dreamt of times where he flew through the sky on the back of a sleek dragon with a toothless smile. He awoke on the hard grassy ground, still wrapped in Astrid's arms, and to what he assumed was her way of waking him.

"Astrid?" Something bumped his face again, and he cringed back.

He blinked his eyes open, giving startled breath at what he saw. Familiar green eyes were nearly overtaken by large pupils. There was no doubt. A Nightfury, right in front of him, stared back.

* * *

So... I cried while writing this. In case you can't tell, HTTYD 3 wounded me.

-Kat


End file.
